Max Verstappen fends off McLaren charge for Austrian GP Sprint victory

Max Verstappen, the dominant force in Formula One this season, secured his fifth consecutive sprint race victory at the Austrian Grand Prix, but not without overcoming early pressure from a spirited McLaren team.

Starting from pole position, Verstappen initially found himself in a tight battle with the McLaren duo of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri. Norris, starting alongside Verstappen on the front row, made a decisive move on lap five, passing the Dutchman into Turn Three.

However, the lead was short-lived. Verstappen, aided by the DRS (Drag Reduction System), swiftly retook the lead going into Turn Four, with Piastri also capitalising on the close battle to move into second place.

"That was spicy, wasn't it," Verstappen quipped over the team radio, acknowledging the intensity of the early exchanges.

Speaking after the race, Verstappen elaborated on the challenge, saying, "Once we cleared the DRS, I could do my own race and it was better. You could see they had two cars pushing flat-out trying to make it difficult for me.”

Piastri's impressive drive earned him a career-best second-place finish, just 4.616 seconds behind Verstappen. Despite losing out on the win, Norris secured a valuable podium finish in third.

Reflecting on his race, Norris admitted to mixed emotions, saying, "Probably some things I definitely should have done a bit better in my battle. I understand that and the pace of the car was very strong, especially at the end of the race."

He further added, "I had a good battle trying to get past Oscar but just didn't have enough speed. Once the tyres get too hot it's difficult to do too much, so I had to make the most of my opportunity. Then I messed it up and left the door open like an amateur."

George Russell secured fourth place for Mercedes, followed by Ferrari's Carlos Sainz in fifth. Lewis Hamilton finished sixth for Mercedes, ahead of the other Ferrari of Charles Leclerc in seventh. Verstappen's teammate, Sergio Perez, could only manage eighth place after starting from 15th on the grid.

The sprint race result extends Verstappen's championship lead to a commanding 71 points over teammate Perez.

The Austrian Grand Prix weekend continues later on Saturday with the qualifying session, which will determine the starting grid for Sunday's main race.